Boulanger: D’un matin de printemps | Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Cornelius Meister

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Composer Lili Boulanger wrote this hopeful work, D'un Matin de printemps ("Of a Spring Morning"), shortly before her untimely death in 1918. Here, the German Symphony Orchestra Berlin sensitively performs the enchanting sounds of her instrumental work at the Kissinger Sommer festival. The concert was recorded on July 11, 2025, in the Max Littmann Hall in Bad Kissingen under the baton of Cornelius Meister.

Without her sister Nadia Boulanger (1886-1979) who was six years her senior, the works of Lili Boulanger (1893–1918) might have remained largely unknown to the public — even despite the fact that in 1913 Lili became the first woman to win the Académie des Beaux-Arts’ Prix de Rome. She received the competition’s highest honor, the premier grand prix, for her cantata "Faust et Hélène," a result that caused a sensation at the time. Critics praised her "happy preference for transparent melodies." Transparent melodies also characterize the impressionistic work D’un matin de printemps, composed in 1918 shortly before Lili Boulanger’s death from illness. The piece received its premiere on March 13, 1921, at the Paris Conservatory, arranged by her sister Nadia. Throughout her life, the renowned pedagogue worked tirelessly to ensure that Lili Boulanger and her music were not forgotten.

Suffering from chronic lung and intestinal illnesses, Lili Boulanger was confined to her home for long periods. She received constant support — including musical guidance — from her family: her father was a French composer, and her mother a Russian-born singer. This environment brought her into contact with leading Impressionist composers such as Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy and Gabriel Fauré, the latter of whom taught both sisters.

Nadia Boulanger later became one of the most influential music educators of the twentieth century, teaching composers and performers including Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Daniel Barenboim, Astor Piazzolla and Quincy Jones at the Paris Conservatory.

During her short life, Lili Boulanger composed around fifty works, ranging from sacred music and large-scale choral and organ pieces to orchestral works and smaller instrumental compositions such as D’un matin de printemps. A few weeks before her death on March 15, 1918, she wrote the two instrumental works D’un soir triste ("Of a Sad Evening") and D’un matin de printemps, the latter was conceived as an optimistic response to the former.

In these pieces, one can almost hear the awakening of spring. The orchestra conveys an exhilarating lightness through late Romantic tone painting: insects seem to buzz within reach, thoughtful string passages emerge in between, and the occasional hunting horn calls out. The flutes dart from place to place like butterflies. Toward the end, the music gathers momentum once more, culminating in an almost celebratory finale.

Lili Boulanger is said to have dictated her last musical thoughts to her sister. She herself was too weak to hold a pen. Lili initially wrote D'un matin de printemps for violin or flute and piano. She then created a chamber music version and an orchestral version.

The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin is known for innovative concert formats such as the "Symphonic Mob," a flash mob in which anyone can participate. The ensemble is also committed to promoting women composers under the motto "No concert without a female composer!" the concept of its 2023/2024 concert season.

In this performance, Cornelius Meister is featured as guest conductor. Since 2018, Meister has been General Music Director of the Stuttgart State Opera and State Orchestra. He has announced his retirement from this position in 2026. He is also socially engaged and aims to make his educational projects accessible to audiences of all generations, particularly those experiencing a symphony orchestra for the first time. Under his leadership, the Stuttgart State Orchestra received the German Orchestra Foundation’s Innovation Prize in 2020.

Text: Gaby Reucher